You know, it's always the milk that does it to me. I'm making a leisurely grocery store run in late October, picking up Dr. Pepper and those amazingly convenient, nutritionally questionable toaster pop-ups with the cheese and bacon products inside. I'm not thinking about the fact that I have no novel ideas. I'm not thinking about the fact that the whole event starts in less than five days.

The act of self-deception goes well until I hit the dairy section and reach for a gallon of milk. At which point I see, to my horror, that every carton in the case carries an expiration date of November 10th or later. November 10th! That can't be! By November 10th, we're supposed to have written 16,000 words! One-third of a novel! In the tenderly short lifespan of Safeway's milk selection!

Hey! I want to extend an enormous thanks to the wonderful folks who have donated to NaNoWriMo so far. Between donations and proceeds from t-shirt sales, we've raised $10,062 towards our 2003 expenses of $35,885! Thank you so much, donors! And thank you t-shirt buyers! We turn a $4 profit on every shirt, and all of it goes directly to NaNo's operating expenses.

For those of you who haven't yet sent in a donation yet, please do so. We have a suggested donation of $10, but we encourage participants to donate whatever makes sense for them financially. If that's $1, fantastic. We'll put your dollar to work, spreading amateur noveling cheer throughout the world.

You can donate through a variety of international means, all conveniently laid out on our Donate page. You can also see a breakdown of our annual expenses on that page, so you'll know where your money is going.

Every donor this year will receive an artful NaNoWriMo thank you postcard, so if you're sending in money through PayPal, make sure you include your mailing address with your donation.